Book News
Late author hits e-book record.
The late Swedish author Stieg Larsson has become the first author to sell a million electronic copies of work on Amazon ‘s Kindle Store, Amazon has announced.
Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, which includes “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,” have sold more than a million copies on the electronic bookstore, which tracks the most popular series.
Larsson died in 2004 just after delivering the manuscripts for the series, so the three books represent his body of work.
“Larsson’s books have captivated millions of readers around the world and ignited a voracious interest in the lives of its main characters Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blomqvist,” Russ Grandeinetti, vice president of Kindle Content, said in a statement.
First Lines
The Moses Expedition, by Juan Gomez-Jurado
The priest wiped his feet carefully on the welcome mat before knocking on the door. After tracking the man for the past four months, he had finally discovered his hiding place two weeks ago. He was now sure of Handwurz’s true identity. The moment had come to confront him.
He waited patiently for a few minutes. It was almost noon and Graus would be having his customary midday nap on the sofa. There was hardly anyone in the narrow street at this hour. His neighbors on Steinfeldstrasse were at work, unaware that at Number 6, in a small house with blue curtains at the windows, a genocidal monster was peacefully dozing in front of his TV set.
Finally the sound of a key in the lock warned the priest that the door was about to open. The head of an elderly man with the venerable air of someone in an advertisement for medical insurance appeared from behind the door.
“Yes?”
“Good morning, Herr Doktor.”
The old man looked the person who was addressing him up and down. The latter was tall, thin, and bald, about fifty years of age, with a priest’s collar visible under his black coat. He stood on the doorstep with the rigid posture of a military guard, his green eyes observing the old man intently.
“I think you’re mistaken, Father. I used to be a plumber, but now I’m retired. I’ve already contributed to the parish fund, so if you’ll excuse me . . .”
“You aren’t by any chance Dr. Heinrich Graus, the famous German neurosurgeon?”
The old man held his breath for a second. Aside from that, he did nothing that might give him away. However, that small detail was enough for the priest: proof positive.
“My name is Handwurz, Father.”
“That’s not true and we both know it.”
Hardcover fiction best sellers
1. The Rembrandt Affair, by Daniel Silva
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, by Stieg Larsson
3. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
4. Fly Away Home, by Jennifer Weiner
5. Private, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
6. The Search, by Nora Roberts
7. Sizzling Sixteen, by Janet Evanovich
8. The Glass Rainbow, by James Lee Burke
9. The Overton Window, by Glenn Beck
10. The Lion, by Nelson DeMille
Publishers Weekly
